I know I could drive all over the place and price shop and save money, buy my free time is worth more than the savings- most of the time. 

Could they "gift" it to me? 

Sometimes this stems from using brokers who have to go shop for loans and do not fully qualify a project prior to issuing a term sheet or a borrower not being fully truthful about themselves or project.

If I were in your shoes I would just shop it around.

If you are constantly loan shopping you will pretty much end up at square one.

These are the important pointers to keep in mind when shopping for tax planning:Tax planning is NOT part of tax preparation.

I've heard in some states it's illegal to give referrals to realtors that are monetary, including gift cards.

The realtor I saw in a local coffee shop new me as we had worked together previoulsy.

For furnishings, we bought Sarah Weaver's MTR shopping list.

The are always multiple variables such as: are the gift funds involvedProperty typecondition of the propertyIs it ruralTitle seasoningReservesLTVWhat is the estimated DSCR ratioCitizenship status: Foreign National, ITIN, Citizen, Resident, permanent residenceDoes borrower have investor experience or notMortgage payment history called a VOM or proof of timely paymentsGift of equity or not100% gift funds or does borrower have at least 5% down payment and their own reserveshow many acres does the property have?